Pre Rain Organic Anji Bai Cha

Tea: Pre Rain Organic Anji Bai Cha
Vendor: Jing Tea
Price: £15.00 / 50g
Source: Zhejiang, China
Vendor Description: Deliciously fresh, picked on 3rd April 2009 from the Undulating Retreat garden. The first picking of the year, before the Qing Ming festival.

Vivacious and exuberant flavours combine spring blossom scents with sweet sappiness, lush textures and beautiful floral top notes.

Certified organic by the Soil Association. Fair Trade certified by IMO Switzerland.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is a light green fluffy leaf. It is lightly pressed with a brilliant fresh green hue to it. There is a light and fresh aroma to it. The leaf is a mix of smaller buds mixed with larger leaves and buds.

1st Infusion Parameters: 3g, 50z, 185F, 1 min

1st Infusion: This tea has a clear radiant yellow-green hue. It has a bright and fresh aroma to it. The flavor is very smooth with a mouth watering feel ot it. The aftertaste is a bit empty after an overall somewhat light and delicate flavor. It feels quite a bit like a light sencha.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 2:00, 185F

2nd Infusion: This tea again shows a brilliant fresh aroma, to a yellow hued infusion this time. The aroma is not present in quantity, but rather a light yet fresh brilliance. There is a rich feeling to the flavor of the tea, but this is in contrast to an almost empty flavor all around. It feels like this tea is more about the background flavor than the central prominent flavor.

Rating: 4/10

Conclusion: The best way to describe this tea is light and subtle. The subtle nature of this tea is quite enjoyable, but a bit light. It is well representative of spring, showing some vibrance and freshness. It is also quite expensive though. More leaf compensates for the light flavor, but that exacerbates the relatively steep price for this tea.

Silver Needle

Tea: Silver Neeldle
Vendor: Jing Tea
Price: £6.90/50g
Source: Fujian, China
Vendor Description: Picked at the end of March this year, long, soft and downy, Silver Needle comprises the first spring buds of the Da-Bai tea plant. It comes from Fuding, a serene region with icy waterfalls and crystal clear lakes. The peaceful setting is reflected in the flavour - soft and mellow,with the freshness of honeydew melon and the soothing sweetness of a ripe cantaloupe. It’s an easy-drinking tea that's ideal for drinking on long and lingering afternoons, or well into the night.

Leaf: The leaf for this Silver Needle is a very vibrant green and white mix of hues. More so than most SN the color is really standing out with this tea. It has the distinctive fluffiness of a SN in a quite exemplary form. The bottom end of the buds have small amounts of blackening which I have seen on a few other SN teas before. The aroma is very vibrant and creamy. It has an almost peachish aroma to it.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 50z, 185F, 1:20

1st Infusion: This infusion has a golden yellow hue to it, and the aroma is thick and sweet. It is bold and in charge, and is a perfect example of the creamy aroma of a SN. The flavor is fresh and crisp, not something seen in many SN, but it is still a light hearted tea. The flavor overall is quite well rounded with a slight conservative emptiness to it.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 2:00, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion has the same golden color, and the aroma is even more enthusiastic. Everything about this tea simply says vibrance. The flavor is creamy yet light, thick, but not overly so.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This is one of the best SNs that I've tried to date. It is slightly different than some others in that the key to this tea is the vibrance and the freshness of the SN. A few others focus more on the subtle flavor and the creaminess. These aspects are present in this tea, but take second seat to the vibrant fresh flavors.

Pre Rain Organic Dragon Well Supreme Green Tea Long Jing

Tea: Pre Rain Organic Dragon Well Supreme Green Tea
Source: Jing Tea
Price: ₤ 12.75 / 50g
Source: Zhejiang, China
Vendor Description: Our highest grade Dragon Well green tea. Picked on 1st April 2009 from Dragon's Staff garden. The first of the year, before the Qing Ming festival.
Small and tender bud and leaf sets masterfully hand-fired fired to give the classic Dragon Well flavour.
Certified organic by the UK Soil Association. Fair Trade certified by IMO Switzerland.

Leaf: The leaf for this tea is rather uniform in size, each of the leaves being about 1.5cm long. They are characteristically flattened, as is normal for a Long Jing. They have a light and sweet aroma, it has a certain creaminess which is similar to that found in a Silver Needle. The leaves are almost all young leaves, just slightly larger than Silver Needle buds.

1st Infusion Parameters: 5g, 5oz, 185F, 45s

1st Infusion: There is a light murkiness to this tea, as is somewhat typical of some young teas. The color is a radiant green blended with a pale yellow hue. It has a rich and creamy aroma. The flavor is rich and creamy. It is vibrant and refreshing. There is almost a shincha grassy flavor to it. In many ways this tea feels like a blending of a Silver Needle, traditional Long Jing, and a Japanese Shincha.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 45s, 185F

2nd Infusion: This infusion had a light green hue to it. Once again there was a light haziness to the tea, which is somewhat rare to see this nature of haziness on a second infusion. The flavor is much sharper this time around. It lacks the general creaminess of the first infusion. The flavor is very rich, rich to the point of having a bit of an edge from the strength to it. It finishes with a tinge of astringency.

Rating: 10/10

Conclusion: This was quite easily the best Long Jing that I have tried. It's flavor touches some of the best aspects from other teas; creaminess of a Silver Needle and fresh grassiness of sencha. The leaves have a very pleasant look to them and a very uniform appearance. The only downside to this tea is the rather steep price, but seeing as how I have yet to see anything on par with this tea in terms of flavor I don't see any issue here.